Better The Devil You Know
by DrarryForever-x
Summary: Harry gives in and agrees to go to the Ministry’s annual Halloween bash with Draco, but it’s just one date and Harry certainly does not have feelings for him, okay? DH compliant minus the epilogue.


**Summary: **Harry gives in and agrees to go to the Ministry's annual Halloween bash with Draco, but it's just one date and Harry certainly does not have feelings for him, okay?

**Rating:** PG-13

**Warnings: **Fluff, fluff and more fluff!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters or settings in this story; everything you recognise belongs to the wonderful JK Rowling. I am not making a profit from this story.

**A/N: **A belated Halloween fic – enjoy! x

-x-

"Trick or treat?"

"Trick," Harry replied, not bothering to look up from his paperwork.

Draco poked his head around Harry's office door. "You were supposed to say '_treat_'! Now you won't get to see what I brought for you."

"Having you in my office is treat enough for me!" Harry said sarcastically. This, however, did nothing to deter the blond, who simply took a seat across from him and held out a cupcake with icing in the shape of what Harry thought was supposed to be a spider's web.

"Luna made them and insisted that I take one along to you," Draco explained and Harry took it from him, eyeing it warily.

"Oh. Well, thank you but I've had the misfortune of sampling Luna's cooking before so I think I'll give it a miss."

"Fair enough," Draco got to his feet and made his way over to the door, pausing to lean casually against the doorframe. "Did you get the memo about the Halloween party?"

"Yes, I got it yesterday afternoon. Why?"

"Are you going?"

"I don't know yet."

"How can you not know? It's tomorrow night!"

"I haven't decided yet. Plus, I don't have a costume."

"Then go to Diagon Alley after work!"

Harry shrugged. "I'll probably just stay in, to be honest."

"There's a huge Ministry party with a free bar and you're going to stay in by yourself?" Draco raised an eyebrow. "What a thrilling life you lead, Potter."

"I used to go to the party with Ginny but, well..."

"But that didn't work out because you're gay?" Draco supplied helpfully. "Yeah, being gay tends to do that to your relationships with women."

Harry flushed. "This has nothing to do with me being gay! I just don't really want to spend yet another night surrounded by happy couples when I don't have a date, okay?"

Draco seemed to consider this. "That's fair, I suppose."

"I'm glad you think so," Harry muttered, turning his attention back to his work.

"Come to the party with me."

Harry shook his head. "Malfoy..."

"Come on, it'll be fun. I'll be your date."

"We've been through this already. I can't -"

"You can't date an ex-Death Eater. Your friends, your job, the press, blah blah blah. It's always the same excuses with you, Potter. Surely you can see that I've changed since we were at school?"

"Well, yes, but -"

"It's been ten years! Don't you think I've earned your trust by now?"

"I do trust you! You're my friend and one of my best Aurors but -"

"Just give me a chance. One date."

Harry stared at him for a few moments. "Just one date? That's all you're asking for?"

"To start with," Draco smirked. "We can see how it goes from there."

Harry smiled in spite of himself. Malfoy was still the most arrogant person he had ever met but, instead of making him want to throttle the blond as it had at Hogwarts, he now found it almost charming. The man exuded the kind of confidence that you couldn't help but be drawn to.

"One date," Harry said warningly, feeling his resolve weaken as Draco flashed him a brilliant smile. _That smile should be illegal,_ he thought to himself darkly as he waved the blond out of his office and tried to get his mind back onto his paperwork.

-x-

Harry gazed despairingly at his reflection for what seemed like the hundredth time that evening.

"Why won't you flatten?!" he yelled at his hair, throwing the comb at the mirror.

"Violence is never the answer, dear," the mirror wheezed as the comb bounced onto the floor.

"Sorry," he mumbled, straightening the collar of his shirt. He had chosen to dress as a devil, with a red button-down shirt, black trousers and pair of red horns attached to a thin headband. He had the distinct feeling that they were meant for girls but they were all Hermione could find for him at such late notice. He pulled on a thin black cloak and checked his watch; he was running slightly late and so would have to Apparate to the party. After checking – and growing angry at – his reflection one last time, he locked his front door and turned on the spot, reappearing in the Atrium of the Ministry.

"Harry! Harry!" he looked up to see Hermione waving frantically, a filthy bedsheet wrapped around her like a toga. "There you are! I was worried that you'd changed your mind about coming."

He kissed her cheek and took a step back, surveying her outfit with a puzzled look on his face. "What the hell are you wearing?"

"I'm a House Elf!" she said happily. "I thought I could use the party as an opportunity to network and get more funding for the department!"

Harry shook his head. "You're insane. Is Ron about?"

"Right here, mate," Ron chose that moment to appear at Harry's side, dressed as a pirate. Harry laughed as his friend lifted his eye patch, winked and raised a plastic hook. There was a toy parrot on his shoulder which wobbled precariously every time he moved.

"Nice outfit," Harry remarked and Ron grinned.

"Same to you! Where's _Malfoy_ then?" he asked teasingly and Harry shoved him.

"Shut up. This is the only way I could get him to stop asking me out. He said we would go on one date, and then he would leave me alone."

"And you're okay with that?"

"Of course I am! I don't want to go out with Malfoy!"

Ron raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

"Oh, there he is," Hermione stood on her tiptoes. "Draco! Draco, over here!"

"Hermione, what the -" but the words died in his throat as he caught sight of Malfoy making his way across the room towards them. He was dressed as a vampire, and was wearing an expensive-looking grey shirt that made his eyes look almost silver. He had slicked his hair back the way he wore it when they first started school and he had delicately smudged his eyes with eyeliner. His skin was so pale that it seemed to glow in the moonlight and, when he smiled, Harry caught a glimpse of what looked like fangs. He could feel his face growing hot and he saw his friends exchange a knowing look out of the corner of his eye.

"Good evening," Draco smirked as he caught sight of Harry's expression. "Sorry I'm late, although I am glad that I didn't miss that look on your face."

"What look?" Harry asked hurriedly. "I've not got any look on my face."

"Okay then," Draco arched an eyebrow, his eyes filled with mirth. "Can I get anyone a drink?"

Harry watched as the blond weaved in and out of the couples on the dancefloor and took his place in line at the bar. He turned to his friends, who were both watching him with badly suppressed grins on their faces.

"What?"

"Oh, don't give me that, Harry! You know fine well what," Hermione replied, arching her eyebrow.

"You almost died with your leg in the air when you saw him in that outfit, mate!" Ron clapped him on the shoulder, grinning.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Harry said stiffly, not meeting his eye.

"Come on, this is us you're talking to! You don't need to pretend with us," Ron's smile faded a little.

"I'm not pretending anything! I don't fancy Malfoy, okay?"

"Alright, Harry, we'll play along," Hermione sighed. "But you'd better wipe that look off your face before he gets back."

Harry did his best to ignore the nervous fluttering in his stomach as he watched Draco order their drinks, levitate them with a flick of his wand and make his way back over towards them. They each grabbed a glass from where they were floating in mid-air with a nod of thanks to the blond and Harry marvelled at how easy the conversation flowed between them. He thought back to their days at school; if someone had told him then that in ten years time he would be on a double date with Draco, Ron and Hermione, he would have said they'd been Confunded.

"Right, I've had enough of talking about work!" Ron cut in an hour and three drinks later. "I'm stealing my wife away to dance!"

"Well, alright but try not to cripple me this time," Hermione looked apprehensively at the dancefloor.

"When will you let that go?! The Healer mended your toe in seconds!"

"Just try not to stand all over me again, okay?"

Ron gave her an exasperated look and grabbed her by the wrist before leading her into the crowd. Harry grinned and turned to face Draco.

"Another drink?" he gestured to the bar but the blond shook his head.

"Let's dance," he flashed his perfect smile again and before Harry could protest, he found himself in the middle of the floor with Draco's hands pressed lightly against his hips. He froze; this wasn't part of the deal! He had agreed to attend the party with the ex-Slytherin but there had been no mention of dancing! He could feel himself beginning to panic and Draco must have sensed it too, because he placed a soothing hand on Harry's shoulder.

"Calm down, it's just one dance," he said gently. "You can't go to a party and not dance!"

"Yes you can," Harry muttered. "I do it all the time."

"Well, you're going to dance at this party, okay?"

Harry glared at the blond. "One dance," he grudgingly replied.

"To start with," Draco said cheekily, echoing his earlier reply to Harry's insistence of only one date with the man. "You never know, you might enjoy it!"

"I doubt it. I'm not much in the way of a dancer," he smiled ruefully and Draco grinned wolfishly.

"Maybe you've just never had the right teacher," Draco grabbed Harry's hands and placed them firmly on his hips, while he himself slid his hands up the brunet's arms, bringing them to rest on his shoulders. He set the pace, swaying slowly to the mournful tune that was currently filling the air and Harry found that he fell in time with the blond easily. Maybe this wasn't as difficult as he had made it out to be! "See? It's not that hard, is it?" he whispered, hot breath caressing Harry's face.

_Speak for yourself_, Harry thought to himself as heat pooled in his groin. He fought a futile battle but his traitorous body prevailed and he could almost swear he felt the blond grinning against his cheek. Draco adjusted the position of his hands so that he was able to ghost his fingertips across the nape of Harry's neck, leaving a tingling trail in their wake. Harry felt his face grow hot and he prayed to whatever god was listening for the song to end. When it finally did, Draco pulled away but he did not move his hands.

"Only once dance, yeah?"

"That was the agreement," Harry replied, mortified to hear his voice waver. Draco smiled, but it wasn't his usual smile. There was nothing hidden in the smile, no hidden signals or mixed messages, it was simply just Draco. Harry's heart skipped a beat as their eyes met, feeling an almost irresistible pull towards the blond as he stared into the depths of those mercury pools. He swallowed hard. He wasn't aware of the distance between them growing shorter and was startled to find his nose against Draco's cheek. How had that happened? Who had been the first to lean in? It didn't matter. He stopped thinking when he felt soft, pliant lips against his own and everything around them faded to black. A talented tongue worked its way into his mouth and he could feel a hand in his hair, tugging gently. An hour - or maybe a minute – a few seconds? – passed before Harry regained his senses and looked up to see Draco looking back at him with an odd expression on his face, and if Harry hadn't known him better, he would have sworn that the blond was nervous.

"One kiss, yeah?" he gave a shaky laugh. "In keeping with the rest of the evening."

Harry took a deep breath and a step back. Was he really about to do this? Put his heart on the line for Draco bloody Malfoy? He mentally crossed his fingers.

"What are you doing on Friday night?"

"Are you going to ask me to work over the weekend?" Draco asked sarcastically.

Harry closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "No, you dolt, I'm going to ask you out for dinner."

"Another date?"

"I suppose so, yes."

"Can I come back to your place afterwards?" the blond raised an eyebrow suggestively.

"No! It's just dinner, you pervert," Harry said exasperately.

"To start with," Draco smirked. "We'll see how it goes from there."

-x-

**A/N:** Sorry it's a little late, I was busier than expected in the lead up to Halloween and didn't have as much time for writing as I'd hoped. What did you think though? Let me know! x


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